Arriving in the dark on Day 3 of the Billabong Junior Series at Long Beach, we spotted two familiar faces topped with blonde hair. It was Max and Jake Elkington, who had arrived extra early to get in “the zone” ahead of the the Finals. To everyone’s surprise and delight following the near flat waves of the first two days, head high waves were peeling down the sandbank, and as soon as enough sunlight lit up the sky, amping groms appeared out of the shadows just like the infamous Kommetjie kelp lice scuttles out of the rocks.
As the sun rose a bit higher and the first heat of the day drew nearer, the nervous tension among the stoked competitors could be felt as we walked around the contest area. The Juniors all squinted towards the lineup with thoughts of lifting the coveted winners cheque above their head while their rivals looked on in envy.
York Van Jaarveldt was the first to clinch victory at Long Beach.
First into the icy Atlantic water were the Under 12 Boys and local shredder, York Van Jaarsveldt, put on a classy performance that belied his young age. His smooth style along with cool finishes in the shorebreak put him out in front. Dylan Hendriks was hot on the heels of York, but couldn’t find the score he needed as time ran down and had to settle for 2nd. Alex Townsend had a few good scoring waves to keep the gap with Dylan nice and tight, but he too lacked the killer ending to seal the result and claimed 3rd place overall. Another local surfer, Monoa Robb, who had a swim in nothing but his baggies as a warm-up before his final, surfed well but couldn’t get the score needed to challenge the leading pack and had to settle for 4th place.
The Under 14 Girls were up next and J-Bay local, Kirsty Macgillivray, stole the show in the Final. Her excellent wave selection enabled her to register the highest scores to win the title. Kirsty also won the “Fins Free” award for the final day and walked away with two new pairs of the latest Kinetic Racing fins. Olivia Izzard claimed 2nd, with Anna Jellema Butler and Finn Musson 3rd and 4th respectively.
Kirsty Macgillivray was stoked on her win in the Under 14 Girls division.
10 High-flying Juniors then hit the water for the Von Zipper Brain Blast-Off Airshow. Jordy Maree started out with some huge punts out of the bowl, but couldn’t get his feet to stick to his wax. Joshe Faulkner landed a big reverse air in the shallow shorebreak and led the pack for the next 15 minutes until local ripper, Jaryd Veldhuis, popped an even bigger one with just five minutes to go. The Kommetjie local landed his big air with a classic hands behind the back soul arch, which earned him the Airshow title with nobody able to better it in the dying minutes.
Due to the two previous days having been put on hold over the high tide mark because of small surf, contest officials decided to change the schedule and bring forward the two premiere finals of the competition. The Under 20 Pro Junior Men and Women Finals are usually the last two heats surfed, but they were up next at Long Beach.
Gina Smith finished second in a head-to-head battle with her sister, Emma.
In the Under 20 Pro Junior Women’s Final it was once again the two Smith sisters, Emma and Gina, battling it out for the win. Their coach, Graham Hynes, must be giving them the same advice as both were registering solid scores from the judges. In the end, Emma snatched the win, while Anoush Zakarian finished in 3rd behind Gina, with Chanelle Botha in 4th.
All eyes were fixed squarely on the lineup as the Under 20 Pro Junior Men paddled out. J-Bay local, Joshe Faulkner started strongest, but spent the rest of the heat paddling around the lineup looking for a back-up scoring wave. Matt McGillivray, who won the Under 16 division at the first event of the Series in Mossel Bay, got to work on the rights but couldn’t register a score high enough to challenge for the win. Steven Sawyer looked relaxed and comfortable in the lineup as he glided his board effortlessly through some smooth turns, but it was Max Armstrong, who is building up a reputation as a ‘quiet assassin’ among competitors, who clinched victory. The Scarborough local amassed two huge scores to put the rest of his fellow finalists in combo land. He walked away as undisputed Long Beach champ with Steven in 2nd, Matt 3rd and Joshe 4th.
Steven Sawyer was ripping on his way to 2nd overall in the Under 20 Pro Junior division.
The Under 14 Boys were up next and Max Elkington, who won the previous event in Mossel Bay, faced a tough challenge in the form of Sebastian Williams. The lead see-sawed between the two of them, but it was Sebastian who got the better of his rival to claim top spot for the division. Luke Slijpen finished a respectable 3rd, while Angelo Faulkner surfed well and grabbed 4th place.
Ruth Armstrong followed her older brother Max’s lead and surfed with confidence in the Under 16 Girls Final. Straight after her first wave, Ruth never looked back and claimed top honours with her proud dad and coach, Ian, looking as stoked as ever. Cana Foster from Durban will go back home pleased with a well placed 2nd, while Pippa Jones and Kia Fenton finished in 3rd and 4th respectively.
Sebastian Williams emerged victorious in the Under 14 Boys division.
Jordy Maree and Jake Elkington’s rivalry continued in the U16 Boys division. Both decided to sit deep in the lineup and surfed the ‘Pebbles’ peak. Jake and Jordy went wave for wave until the siren sounded to end the heat and it was Jake who triumphed. Joshe Faulkner, who had had a busy day surfing two different age groups, placed 3rd with Rewaldo Abersalie in 4th.
What began as a fairly dismal and small first two days at the Billabong Junior Series in Cape Town, ended spectacularly on the final day with some good waves and an amazing beach day. Next, the event heads back up the coast and sets up camp in Cape St Francis for the final event of the Series in early October. See you there!
Jordy Maree was seen ripping all weekend.
FINAL RESULTS:
Under 12 Boys
1. York Van Jaarsveldt
2. Dylan Hendricks
3. Alex Townsend
4. Manoa Robb
Under 14 Boys
1. Sebastian Williams
2. Max Elkington
3. Luke Slipjen
4. Angelo Faulkner
Under 14 Girls
1. Kirsty McGillivray
2. Olivia Izzard
3. Anna Jellema Butler
4. Finn Musson
Under 16 Boys
1. Jake Elkington
2. Jordan Maree
3. Joshe Faulkner
4. Rewaldo Abersalie
Under 16 Girls
1. Ruth Armstrong
2. Cana Foster
3. Pippa Jones
4. Kia Fenton
Under 20 Pro Junior Men
1. Max Armstrong
2. Steven Sawyer
3. Matt McGillivray
4. Joshe Faulkner
Under 20 Pro Junior Women
1. Emma Smith
2. Gina Smith
3. Anoush Zakarian
4. Chanelle Botha
Specialty prizes:
BOS Surfer Of The Contest – Joshe Faulkner
Nixon WTA – Jarryd Veldhuis
DaKine Youthful Movement Award – Jerry Van Wyk
KR Fins Free Award winners
Day 1 – Tide Lee Ireland
Day 2 – Joshe Faulkner
Day 3 – Kirsty McGillivray
Dennis Ellis Underground Ripper Awards
Girl – Anna Butler
Boy – Paul Sampson
The VonZipper Brainblast Off Airshow was won by Jarryd Veldhuis
The surfers selected to represent South Africa at the World Junior Champs at the end of October in Portugal are:
Regional members: Max Armstrong, Diran Zakarian and Matt McGillivray.
QS members: Slade Prestwich and Dylan Lightfoot.
Girls: Emma Smith and Chanelle Botha.
